Peter I promised his little daughter Elizabeth that he would marry her to Louis XV, and she would become queen of France. But all plans, including agreements with the French king, crumble with the death of the great monarch: Peter I passes away before he can appoint an heir. This is how the ruthless and merciless era of palace coups begins — a time of intrigue and power struggle. Will the empire built by Peter and its new capital, St. Petersburg, stand? What price will Elizabeth Petrovna, the youngest daughter of the great monarch, have to pay to take her place in history? And what can women on the throne give Russia?
Igor Gordin
